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Thursday, July 9, 2009

To niche or, not to niche?

My dabbling in longer term trading has changed the way that I view all trading, even the intraday stuff. In the past I knew that trading based on multiple time frame was necessary in the long run and now I have managed to inadvertently get to one of those stages. I was daytrading in the minute time lines then I changed that to 30 minute and daily with the longer term stuff and now I am investigating the weekly, which I played with a little while back with no real conviction.


Today (and a couple of other times) I entered an intraday position based on either news or just what appeared to be the current trend. My previous two trades were small profits as a result of letting the stop sit where it should be to start considering the longer time frames, I just made sure to close out before the end of the day.


Today I placed a long trade in SPY around 0945h and set the stop below the overnight low range which was near the previous day close price. I have watched as the price has ranged between 60 or 70 cents over the morning, leaving a few opportunities to make some small profits on closing the trades at the repeated high of the AM. I decided to leave these in order to just play the longer game. This is as much a mental game as anything else right now as I left the position open for four tests of the low price then moved my stop tight when the price reached the first support/resistance line at about noon.

So, three "daytrades" for three and all profitable, even if marginally.

Perhaps I was just in the wrong frame of mind all this time and I should return tot he day trade?

No, I like the longer term as well as the shorter term trades. I figure that I will be better served by keeping a wide array of experience in the market active. I know many suggest finding a niche and sticking to it but a niche edge in trading can evaporate in a slight change in market dynamics so I would rather have a broader approach that allows me to pick and choose what works and what does not given the ever changing circumstances. The key will be to recognize what is best for any given timeframe and market condition.

The never ending game.

Jeff.

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